NEWSLETTER

September 2010

For those of you who are keeping track, I missed doing a newsletter in August. August was a busy month as our youngest produced his second musical and then I left with him for California to get him settled for college a few days later. An exciting time to be sure, a time of change as we have only one child at home, who is an independent adult. For those of you dealing with sleep deprived nights, temper tantrums and the other challenges and joys of young children it seems a world away to have an empty nest but it happens in the blink of an eye. So on those long days and nights when you are working hard just to get though look at all the blessings that your child brings to you and appreciate them. Even the hardest stages pass quickly and every ounce of effort on your part pays off when your adult children take the time to say "I love you" or tell you how glad they are of the way you raised them. It happens, I know and it is amazing.

Besides the regular research articles below I introduce two new resources in South Jersey, one a new series of independent childbirth classes, another for families who are dealing with the loss or impending loss of a baby. We welcome them to the growing resources for healthy families in our region.

So enjoy the change of season as the lovely Fall weather approaches and the change of stages that are happening in your family.

Karen

The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding - The new edition is now available! Buy one for yourself and a couple for baby gifts for your friends.

A wonderful film trailer on Human Milk Banking and Premature babies.

Prescription Milk: The Documentary

Blossom and Birth Classes

Gentle Childbirth Preparation Classes in South Jersey

The Blossom & Birth Gentle Birth Preparation Course is packed with lots of techniques and tools all designed so that you feel prepared and ready for a comfortable birth.

Would you like to give your baby the gift of a drug-free gentle beginning?

Blossom & Birth is a fun, relaxing natural childbirth education class that teaches you and your birthing companion the tools for a shorter more comfortable natural labor and birth.

~ Learn breathing techniques to use to optimize each contraction/surge.

~ Learn the secret to avoiding episiotimies.

~ Birth Companions will learn the best way to support their loved one.

~ Learn what you need to be prepared for your hospital experience & birth plan.

and so much more...See www.BlossomandBirth.com to see our on-going class schedule in multiple South Jersey Locations. 856-465-2125.

Open House for Footprints In Time, Inc.

Footprints In Time, Inc. offers free holistic services designed to support, nurture, and comfort mothers who experience the tragic loss of a baby in any stage of pregnancy, birth and in the first few months of life, or any other mother needing our services due to other traumatic experiences.

With a holistic approach in providing mother-to-mother peer support, this positive path will encompass emotional, physical, social and spiritual support that will facilitate and promote individual coping and healing mechanisms that are inherent in all of us.

On October 8, 2010 there will be an open house for Footprints In Time, Inc.

Come visit us for information on upcoming peer support groups and volunteer programs from 10am - 2pm.

We will be at our home office at: 34 S. Delsea Dr. 2nd Fl. Glassboro, NJ 08028

For more information call: Dawn Richartz at 856-535-6997 or Rosalie Gladulich at 856-383-2338

The Magic Number by Nancy Mohrbacher

The “magic number.” This refers to the number of times each day a mother’s breasts need to be well drained of milk to keep her milk production stable. Due to differences in breast storage capacity, some mothers’ “magic number” may be as few as 4-5 or as many as 9-10. But when a mother’s total number of breast drainings (breastfeedings plus milk expressions) dips below her “magic number,” her milk production slows.

If you want to understand this wonderful concept developed by Nancy Morbacher more fully or any of her other great breastfeeding advice for moms working outside the home and all women go to her blog.

A nice article to share with pregnant women from Mothering Magazine. If you or a friend are pregnant a subscription to Mothering would be a great present. They have wonderful information that you don't find in the Mainstream baby magazines that are supported by advertising from formula companies.

Avoiding the Cascade of Medical Interventions

In our culture, there has been a tendency to turn pregnancy and childbirth into a medical experience. One intervention can lead to another in a cascading sequence of questionable procedures, many made necessary only because of a previous intervention.

We are indeed lucky to live in a time when medical aids to labor and delivery exist, but medical interventions such as labor induction, pain relief, and cesareans—measures that have saved many lives—have been overused.

It can be helpful to get familiar with many of the tests and interventions associated with childbirth in order to know when they are warranted and when they should be avoided.

Read the Full Article and/or learn more about Mothering Magazine.

For infant sleep, receptiveness more important than routine

research from Penn State University

Parents understand the challenge of getting infants to sleep through the night, and now Penn State researchers show that being emotionally receptive can reduce sleep disruptions and help infants and toddlers sleep better.

"Bed time can be a very emotional time. It heralds the longest separation of the day for most infants," said Douglas Teti, professor of human development and family studies. "It struck me that going to sleep, and sleeping well, is much easier for some young children than others, and I wanted to assess what factored into this, and what parents and children contribute to sleep patterns."

When parents provide reassurance through emotional communication, Teti and his colleagues believe that it lets children know they are in a safe environment.

"Emotions are the most basic form of communication between babies and parents," Teti said.

His findings pose new challenges to parents because they suggest that being emotionally available -- paying attention to cues and responding to children appropriately -- is more effective than a specific bedtime behavior in promoting better sleep.

To read more